On to another impediment

I think that my modem/router is dying.  It needs repeated reboots to get on to doing it's job.  At some point it is going to go off and not go on.  Therefore today I am going to be talking to the powers that be and see if I can get a new one.  Meantime if there is a long deep silence here you know why.
So after that here are some more cards and commentary.

Clear Sight

What you expect, what you want, and what you need are different things.

They flavor the way we receive what is given.  We are most often given what we need.   It is not what we expect and may very well not be what we want.  We may be given great gifts that we don’t actually accept for a long time.

Of all the pieces that will trip you up, Expectation is the big one.  What we expect, and what we do and how we respond to not getting it, is all too often the growth point.

Knowing the difference between our needs and our expectations is a crucial piece of education.  Even now, I have to stop and ask, “What’s important here?”  When the chips are down, what is it you really need, and what can you do to get it?

The crossroads

There are a lot of stories told about Crossroads.  There are a lot of traditions about who you might meet and what might happen at the crossroads.  In the end it comes down to times and places where you have to choose one road or another, to do one thing and not another. 

The crossroads is a place to be very careful of the unintended consequences.  It is a place where sense and logic need to be weighed on the scales of the heart.  Choice is power here and choosing well is very important.

I stood in the crossroads for years unable to choose a road to go down.  It felt to me that I was asked to choose between two things. Either this way or that, and I could not make that choice, so I stayed still and did not move.  Finally in desperation, I cried out for help, because I couldn’t stand still there a moment longer.

  The sensation was immediate, and stunning.  I saw myself being pulled apart by my two directions. Then suddenly as if I was in a dance, the two poles spun me around and crossed my arms, leaving me facing an entirely different direction with my arms wrapped tightly around myself.  The invisible cosmic dance partner said to me” They are meant to hold you together, not to pull you apart” in a voice that was gentle, chiding and ever so slightly impatient.

In facing that new road I was able, finally, to make my way into a new life.  

Facing fear

The difference between headology and psychology can be explained a bit like this:  If you go to a psychologist and tell him that there is a monster in your closet, the psychologist will spend a lot of time trying to convince you that the monster is not there.  The headoligist will most likely give you a pot for a helmet, a big stick, point you in the right direction, and cheer you on. 

One of the best illustrations that I ever saw of this is in the movie Patch Adams. If you have seen the movie, remember the epic battle of the imaginary squirrels?

Getting into an argument about the reality of a monster is useless and pointless.   Taking it as a given that all monsters are real saves time and trouble.   In any case the fear is real, and if there is any monster in the world I vote fear as the one that causes all the problems. Heading out to whale on your monster can return your energy caught in fear to be used in a better way.